- Title: U2 kicks off European leg of "Joshua Tree" tour in London
- Date: 9th July 2017
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JULY 8, 2017) (REUTERS) WIDE OF TWICKENHAM STADIUM OUTSIDE VARIOUS OF U2 T-SHIRTS WOMAN HOLDING U2 T-SHIRT T-SHIRT WITH SIGN READING (English): "U2 WAR TOUR" MAN HOLDING IRISH FLAG T-SHIRT WITH SIGN READING (English): THE JOSHUA TREE EUROPE 1987 (SOUNDBITE) (English) FLIGHT ATTENDANT CHAPS FROM PHILIPPINES, SAYING: "I think, you know, like with this concert everyone will be united. For us, we traveled all the way to see this, so." T-SHIRT WITH SIGN READING (English): "U2 360 TOUR" (SOUNDBITE) (English) RETIRED UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN, SAYING: "I like U2's music for a long time, I didn't see them until a couple of years ago, at the O2 in London, and just the power and they really pack a punch, and they just make sure you want to come back for more." PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) LAWYERS FABIANE (LEFT) AND DEBORA (RIGHT) FROM BRAZIL, SAYING: DEBORA: "Bono is astonishing, wonderful. FABIANE: "Everbody loves him. People travel from other countries really just to see him, the grandiosity that became U2." DEBORA: "U2 is eternal." SIGN READING (English): "WELCOME TO TWICKENHAM" / CROWD WAITING CROWD WAITING (SOUNDBITE) (French) U2 FAN BRIGITTE AIYO FROM PARIS, SAYING: "So, I am an U2 fan since I was 10 years old, I am 44 years old, so I am a fan for 34 years, and this year I decided to follow the world tour of the band because I dream to travel around the world with them." QUEUE OF PEOPLE WAITING (SOUNDBITE) (English) U2 FAN PHILIP CHAMBERS, SAYING: "I went to the first Joshua Tree tour in '87 and I am going to take my lad to Berlin and take him on the same journey when I was younger. It is very emotional so I think It is quite relevant to what's happening in the world today."
- Embargoed: 23rd July 2017 14:23
- Keywords: U2 The Joshua Tree music tour european politics Bono. reaction
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Music
- Reuters ID: LVA0016OZVMTJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Irish rock group U2 kicked off the European leg of "The Joshua Tree" tour on Saturday (July 8) by returning to the album that tackled their love-hate relationship with America and propelled them to superstardom when it was released 30 years ago.
The band, led by 57-year-old singer Bono, is playing most of the record to 2.4 million fans on their 2017 tour, including hits "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm looking For".
But they started the London show with early songs "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "New Year's Day", "Bad", and the Martin Luther King Jr-inspired "Pride (In the Name of Love)", which Bono dedicated to the "Rainbow people of London" who took part in the annual Pride LGBT march in the city earlier on Saturday (July 8).
"The Joshua Tree" was played in sequence against a backdrop of video of U.S. landscapes such as Death Valley, and Americans standing in front of the Stars and the Stripes, shot by Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn who created the imagery on the original record.
The group's best-selling album was released in 1987 when Ronald Reagan was U.S. President and his ideological soul mate Margaret Thatcher was in power in Britain.
Bono largely let the music speak for itself on Saturday, although a character called "Trump" was called a liar by the "good guy cowboy" in a Western movie-style clip.
"The Joshua Tree", which sold more than 25 million copies, marked the pinnacle of the band tackling social and political issues through rock music.
Seven of their later songs, including "Ultraviolet" and "One", were played as an encore, before Bono invited support act Noel Gallagher back on stage to sing "Don't Look Back in Anger", a song he wrote for his band Oasis.
The track became an anthem for Manchester after 22 people were killed by a suicide bomber in the city in May, and Gallagher also dedicated it to the victims of further attacks and a devastating tower block fire in London in June.
"The Joshua Tree" tour plays seven other European cities including Berlin, Rome, Barcelona, Dublin, Paris and Amsterdam in July finishing in Brussels on August 1st before returning to the United States in September. The tour will arrive in Latin America from October. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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